A Controversial Banksy Mural Is About To Hit The Auction Block

Art created by renowned British graffiti artist Banksy that was
withdrawn from a controversial US auction is being put up for
sale again in London, auctioneers said on Saturday.

The mural called Slave Labour mysteriously vanished from its
original site on a wall in north London in February before
appearing on an auction list in Miami later that month.

The work, which shows a boy making a Union Jack bunting on a
sewing machine (an apparent comment on sweat-shop labour) was
pulled from sale at the last minute, apparently after pressure by
campaigners who wanted it returned to its original home.

The piece had been expected to fetch up to £450,000 (RM2 mil) The
work had first appeared last May on the wall of an outlet of
thrift store Poundland in the Wood Green district of Haringey
shortly before the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The piece is now set to go on sale at the London Film Museum in
Covent Garden on June 2, auctioneers The Sincura Group said in a
statement.

Sincura said that the mural has “been sensitively restored under
a cloak of secrecy”, and will be “the centrepiece” of the group’s
latest private art exhibition alongside pieces by Damien Hirst,
Andy Warhol, Mario Testino and Russell Young.

But Alan Strickland, a councillor for Wood Green who has
spearheaded the ‘Bring Back Banksy’ campaign since the piece was
removed from its original site, said he would fight to prevent
the sale going ahead.

“We feel very strongly that this piece was given freely by Banksy
to our area. It belongs to the community and it should be
returned to Wood Green,” Strickland said.

“The sale shows complete disregard for the strength of public
feeling. “We were delighted to stop the sale in Miami and we are
determined to campaign hard to stop this sale.

“News that the piece is being sold at an exclusive VIP reception
is particularly galling for residents who previously enjoyed the
artwork for free on a daily basis.”

Strickland said the successful sale of the work would set a
dangerous precedent for other pieces of street art in public
view.

“People from around the world have got in touch with us about
this,” Strickland told us. “They are watching this because they
know the possible consequences for street art where they live if
this sale takes place. “If it goes ahead, every piece of street
art will have its price.”

Keith Flett, secretary of the Haringey Trades Union Congress,
said: “The Slave Labour Banksy belongs to the people of Haringey,
not to a wealthy private client. “We want the sale stopped and
the Banksy back where it belongs in London N22.”

Sincura director Tony Baxter
said his group “does not condone any acts of wanton vandalism or
other illegal activity” and said that they were “entirely
satisfied that the mural was legally salvaged”.

He said the current owners of the work preferred to remain
anonymous “due to unnecessary and disproportionate criticism,”
adding that the piece was now being represented by a group called
Bankrobber.

There was suspicion that the mural had been stolen when it first
disappeared in February but London’s Metropolitan Police said
there were “no reports of any theft”.